Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Even after 3 years of being a mum, it's amazing how often I forget the basics. Like, for example, to always have snacks with me. To take Nelle to the potty before we get into the car. And that the perfect antidote for rainy days is baking.

I forget these things, and then the day goes (as they say here) pear-shaped.

So, on this instance, I am so so so thankful that the mum I was chatting to at Nelle's swimming lesson mentioned baking. Of course!

Because, you see, on that day it was raining, and I was dreading our Day-of-No-Plans. Our Day-Totally-Indoors. But instead of tears and tantrums, Nelle and I made cookies.

*You can substitute wholemeal flour / plain flour (or a combination of) and brown sugar if you don't have these ingredients on-hand.

**Try to use organic ingredients when you can, especially for the eggs. It's actually much easier to ensure that the chickens are raised in good conditions when the eggs are organic (compared with free-range).

#I also recently made these using 2 "chia eggs" - a chia egg is just 1 Tbs chia seeds soaked in 3Tbs water until it begins to get gelatinous and disgusting. Then, use in baking just as you would an egg! I made 2 here, and they worked perfectly.

The process
1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and all the wet ingredients (except for the water) in another bowl.

2. Add the wet to the dry, and mix to combine. Then, add as much water as needed to make a dough that sticks together. It'll be a little moist, compared to - say - pizza dough. But it shouldn't be crumbly and it shouldn't be too sticky. (In a little bit, you'll have to roll it out ... keep that in mind)

3. Put a cover on the bowl and put the dough into the fridge for at least 30 min.

4. Preheat the oven to 160C (350F), and line a baking tray with baking paper.

5. Take the dough out of the fridge and divide it into 3-4 segments. Roll each segment out between 2 pieces of baking paper, till it's about 1 cm (1/2 in) thick. Then use your favourite cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

6. Bake the shapes in the preheated oven for around 10-15 min, until they're solid and golden. Remove from the heat and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Store the biscuits in an airtight jar for a week. Or pop some in the freezer for later emergencies!

Using all organic ingredients, you can make these biscuits for less than $4 per dozen.